Paradise football team seeks another victory over Foothill

The Bobcats have won six straight games — five at Paradise's Om Wraith Field — since 2008. Ironically enough, Foothill's last win against Paradise came at Wraith Field on Oct. 5, 2007. On that day the Cougars blasted a sub-par Bobcat team that didn't make the playoffs, 28-10.

This year's Paradise squad (7-3), though it has dropped three games — the most since 2007 — is much better than the one six years ago.

The proof of that is Paradise's 53-25 win at home over Foothill in league action earlier this year.

The two will meet in a rematch at 7 p.m. tonight at Wraith Field in the Northern Section Division I semifinals.

"Regular season is thrown out of the window, this is (postseason)," said Paradise coach Rick Prinz, whose team is seeded second in the Division I playoffs this year for the first time since 2006. "Both teams want to win; we are one game away from the section (so) we just have to be motivated."

Rain is also likely to accompany the two teams tonight, as the National Weather Service predicts a 30 percent chance of showers Thursday night and 50 percent today. The temperature is supposed to range between 47 and 59 degrees, which promises both a wet and cold evening at Wraith Field.

As many people know, Paradise's turf, which is natural grass, doesn't drain well, making for extremely muddy circumstances come kickoff.

"It's always great to play at home but we're not counting on any advantages except the ones that we make on the field for ourselves," Prinz said.

Foothill's offense has been "rolling," Prinz said, but the third-seeded Cougars (8-3) will need to prove they can continue their offensive productivity on grass turf and in wet, muddy conditions. That's been a problem for Bryon Hamilton's squad in years past, as Foothill has scored a combined 14 points in three postseason games in November against Paradise.

If any team based out of Palo Cedro can snap its offensive issues at Wraith Field, it's this one. Behind record-setting junior quarterback Ryan Pollard, who has thrown 33 touchdown passes — the most of any Cougar QB all-time — along with a plethora of receivers led by three-year starting wideout Cooper Janusveskis, the Cougars have scored 40 or more points each of the last four weeks.

That includes a pair of 48-point outputs against Red Bluff, which Paradise put up just 12 points against in a 34-12 defeat earlier this year.

"We have to come out and play intense football," Prinz said.

Prinz will again lean on senior, two-way players Tom Hays (quarterback and defensive back) and Johnny Porter (wide receiver and defensive back), along with senior linebacker Zephyr King — all of whom are cleared to play, Prinz said, after suffering minor injuries in Red Bluff three weeks ago.

Perhaps Paradise's biggest key offensively is Jonathan Dixon.

Dixon, a junior two-way force who plays both running back and defensive lineman for the Bobcats, surprised many, including Hamilton, in the first meeting between the two schools this year.

"He looked like a much more physical back than what we'd seen on film," Hamilton said after the game on Sept. 28.

Dixon rushed for 204 yards on 30 carries and scored three touchdowns to lead the Bobcats' ground attack that night.

Dixon being able to mimic that performance, along with helping the Bobcat defense slow down Foothill's offense, are the two biggest factors in Paradise continuing its current win streak on the Cougars.